How to sharpen your knife with whetstones
*Before getting started…
・Soak the whetstone in water for about 10 minutes (until it’s saturated and no bubbles are coming out).
・Always make the surface of the whetstone flat before getting started to sharpen.
Set a towel or rubber under the whetstone.
That prevents moving while sharpening.
Westernstyle knife (Double edged)
Tips!
・Keep the same angle all the time
・Do not push the knife/ No pressure
・The burr comes out, it means your knife is sharpened
・In the end, remove the burr
Japanese style knife (Single edged)
Tips!
・Keep the angle all the time
・Don’t push the knife/ No pressure
・The burr comes out, it means your knife is sharpened
・In the end, remove the burr
Chinesestyle knife (Double edged)
Tips!
・Keep the angle all the time
・Don’t push the knife/ No pressure
・The burr comes out, it means your knife is sharpened
・In the end, remove the burr
Whetstones
Rough grit stone…#180-220Fix big gaps of the blade, restore sharpness.
Medium grit stone…#600-1500 Put an edge on the blade. Fix small gaps of the blade.
Fine grit stone…#3000-8000
Final one. Make the edge even sharper.
Final one. Make the edge even sharper.
Howto care
Carbon steel knife
...Carbon steel gets rusty
・Wash and wipe the moisture off after using it
・Keep it clean and dry
・Don’t use the dishwasher
・In case your knife is rusty, rub with cleanser/rust remover on only the rusted areas.
(Don’t rub the edge. It makes the edge dull.)
Stainless steel knife
...Stainless steel is easy to care
・Wash and wipe the moisture off after using
・Don’t use the dishwasher
Japanese style knife
・Use different knives depending on what you are going to cut.
・We adopt traditional water hardening method. Therefore, the blade is harder than western style knife blade. Please be careful of the blade edge thickness . The thin edge is easy to break/chip.
・Honkasumi single edged products are made with 2 types of steels attached (soft and hard ).
The steels have different properties and that may cause the blade to bend.
However, it’s possible to fix the blade flat. Please ask us if the condition of your knife is in such a case. .
The back side rusts easily so take cautious care.
Westernstyle knife
・Use different knives depending on what you are going to cut.
・Western style knives are double edged.
Sharpen both sides.
Chineseknife
・Use different knives depending on what you are going to cut.
・Do not strike garlic or ginger with the sides of the knife. That will cause the blade to bend.
・Keep the blade flat. A bent blade makes the blade's core unstable (3 layers structured ones). At worst, the knife cannot be fixed.